On Sunday, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) succinctly summed up what many people on both sides of the political aisle are thinking in regards to representatives staying away from their districts and avoiding public town halls during the President’s Day recess. “I understand why members of Congress don’t like it,” Christie said on CNN’s […]
Editorial
Posted inOpinion
Critical City Services
It’s time to find the money—and that doesn’t mean yet another bond During the past election season, several City Council candidates ran on a platform that the financial woes the City of Bend faces (potholes, general road improvements, support for septic-to-sewer transitions, a new Urban Growth Boundary) could be solved through more judicious spending. The […]
Posted inOpinion
Moving from Activism to Office
Open school board spot: It’s nice to see so much engagement in a local race Say what you want about the last election cycle. Say it was a travesty. Say it was a triumph. But whatever you say about it all, you cannot say that it was yet another round of politics as usual. The […]
Posted inOpinion
The Builders’ Biggest Lobby Just Landed a Spot on the Bend Planning Commission
Last Wednesday, the Bend City Council voted five-to-two to admit Jeff Payne, owner of Panterra Homes and the president of the Central Oregon Builder’s Association, to the city planning commission. According to COBA’s website, its mission is to “represent the building industry before government and the community.” There is always concern when an individual who […]
Posted inOpinion
Bend Streets Department Proposes Increases to Winter Operations Budget
As of Jan. 26, roughly 60 inches of snow had dropped on Central Oregon this winter. That’s far from the most the area has seen since records have been kept, but it’s still prompting City of Bend officials to consider some changes. The City’s Streets Department is proposing an increase of $270,000 more in the […]
Posted inOpinion
Clearing snow off the sidewalks helps the vulnerable in our community
There’s no doubt that this last month’s weather events have been frustrating for most people. For drivers, it’s meant getting stuck on rutted roads and sliding perilously close to parked cars on the daily commute. But that pales in comparison to the frustrations of local residents who walk, bike or use public transit to get […]
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Cameras in Cop Cars Can Make Investigations More Bulletproof
It’s time for the Bend Police Department to bite the bullet and require officers use cameras in their contact with the public. While grainy amateur videos taken by eyewitnesses have surfaced, the December 23 downtown shooting death of 31-year old Michael Tyler Jacques presents a clear need for the use of cameras by Bend cops. […]
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Protecting Journalists Means Protecting Yourself
“History will have to record the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and other violent actions of the bad people but the appalling silence and indifference of the good people. Our generation will have to repent not only the words and acts of the children of darkness but […]
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Deschutes River Settlement: An Uneasy Truce
In terms of water, it’s going to be a good year. Just look outside. According to the U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service, all basins in Oregon have normal to above-normal snowpack, with the Deschutes and Crooked River basin at 126 percent of the median. “That was not the case last year, when we observed rapid, […]
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Mr. President: A Partial Designation for the Owyhee, Please
The Owyhee Canyonlands region in Southeast Oregon remains the one iconic area of the state that is largely unprotected. It’s not because of a lack of effort – led by the Oregon Natural Desert Association in Bend and a coalition of supporters including Keen Footwear of Portland, the Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club, The Pew […]